Ledger-tray



J. E. BEMIS.

LEDGER TRAY.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 21,1920.`

1,381,902, PatenteaJunez 21.y

2 SHEETS-S A TTOH/VE Y S UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN EMMON BEMIS, 0F CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA.

'LEDGEn-Tnay.

To all 'w 7mm it may concern.'

Be it known that I, JOHN E. BnMrs, a

citizen ofk the United States, and a resident be accommodated andselected cards may be Perty ,withdrawn laterally .for reference without 'removing the same from order in which placed.

e further- ,oloieot otmy invention ie to proyidela device of the type described `thet 11e liebt .in Weight, oorepeet ,in size, enel yyhehioley .therefore loev placed upon desk `or the like or reeflly oerred from place to floleee, o A .further obieotof my :invention 1S to Pre 4viole e `deyiee 'of the type vdeeeribed that 1S strong and durable in construction and which `lende itself .readily to ,ornamental embellishment.

A, A further obieet of my invention is to .proyde a kdevice of the type `described that is thoroughly 4meeticel .oommereelly- Other objects `.and advantages will appear.

in the following orspecitication, and the novel features of the invention will be portionlarly pointed out inthe appended claims.

. My invention is lloetreted ,the eeoomopenyre fdrevinse, formelle port of this epplication, in .which--` Y A Fgure 1 isa piani `-ewof Ythe.dfwicethe ,dotted lines indicating .the position occupied by f1-,portion thereof when in its later- ,elly ,extended ,Positie-11 f Fie A2de e eide yew of the ideyiee the ,dottedlines indicating the position assumed y ,by a portion .thereof when extended longi- ,tudinallyg Fgla 'f A ,Eige is ,a section along the line of `Figf is fsection along the `line A5-5 of Fig-L23 o, I s

In carrying out my invention, I `provvide Specication of Letters Patent. Patentgd June 21, A,elpiplieation llledv June 21, 1520. Serial (1519.390543,

o Fig. 3 is a section along the line ,of n

similar upright end portions 1 and "2 whose remote sides are parallel and whoseadjacent slides are inclined oppositely from vthe base upward. .The ends'l and'2"are partly lncased` by casmgs 3 and e respectively, as shown. The casing 3 has ahorizontal'eiztension 5 whiohis formed with vertically disposed side portions 7. "The casinglhas a horizontal extension 6 which is formed with vertically disposed side portions 8.

The extensions 5 and n6 are positioned beneath the bottom of the `device which consists of a plurality of slats 9,'the`side portions 7 and `8 serving to prevent "lateral spreading of such slats. The casings 3 ande be secured tothe end portions `andl2 in any Vsuitable manner as `by meansof screws 10- The letter here another function slee, Aas will be hereinafter set forth.4H The slats 9, which comprise `the bottom of theV 'device eeeh here orlelerrd ,Seoul-"ed te one of theoerid ,members l oir-2, e1-temete. Slate berfgeecured to the same endmeniber. The "manner inwwhich` the slats aresecured tured in Fis- 5 of the eeeomperlyredreyvings. Referring thereto, it 'jwillloe'noted that Certain Slate are eeoilred to the bottom of theend 1elerrlloer l by Ineens! of Serene 14, the ends of such slats `ext-eiidin to theend edge ,ci the end member 1. T e 'slats,"inot secured to the end memberl 1, fdo not extend to the end edge of the ,end member 1 and are arranged to Aenter mortises 13 which Yare provided in the ,end member 1l. `The OOIlIrlecticn of certain slats entering into the construction of the bottom is effected with the end member 2 in a precisely identical manner.

.Hellfllee 11, edepted .to lee-grasped by :the hand, are secured to each of the ulends land 2 and may be positioned, as shown.

r The Aextensible" moverme-nt longitudinally i Vof the ends 1 and 2 with respect ,to `leach other, islimitedby arguide member 21 has one Aenel secured to ithe erro orereloer 1- -lohiefeuide member 21 ie proydeot with" e ,guide slot 22 edeptedto reoeye 'o solde pin or stud 23 which is r4secured in one cfffthe slats 9. This last named `slat` is :rigidly secured to the end 2. I also provldea tubular guide member 15,- which has ari-end 'pontion 16l bent upwardlysand secured-tothe 11er7 es .by means of e eorewrl Tieltlliilef member 15 .is slidable inca `sliglgtly rger tubuler ,member :1.8 yrhohhee upwardly at 19 andV secured to the inner face of the end member 1 by means of a screw 20. The tubular members 15 and 18 provide auxiliary means for guiding the ends 1 and 2 during their extensible move- .ment and also serve .as a guiding rod for' cards (not shown), which are placed between the ends 1 and'2. Such cardsare ordinarily provided with slotted openings in their lower edges adapted to engage such 1 tubular members in such a manner as to permit the cards being moved therealong.

To prevent accidental displacement of the cards, I provide side arms. The side arm at one side of thev device comprises a member 24, Vwhich is bent laterally at 25, the lateral portion being extended between the casingd and the end 2, where it is secured in position by meansy of a screw 10. An

ing 28 in the side portion vof the casing 3 between the end portion of the casing 3 and the end member 1, being secured in position by the screw 10. The sidearm the opposite side of the device comprises a member 29 which has one end slidable in a coperating i member 33. The remote end of thememberV 29 is secured to a laterally extending guide member 31 by means of screws 30. The remote end of the member 33 is likewise secured to a laterally extending-'guide member 35, which is precisely identical with the guide member 31, by means of screws 311. The guide members 31 and 35 extend through apertures 36 in the side portion of the casings 4 and 3 respectively, being received in guideways 32 and 38 which are provided Vin such end portions. Consequently, the side arm consisting of the members 33 and 29 is extensible laterally with respect to the devic'e. This extensible movement is limited by the screws 10 which have portions of their length inserted through guide slots 37 which are provided in the guide members 31 and 35 (see Figs. 1 and 4:).

From the foregoing description of the various parts of the device, the operation thereof may be readily understood. The device, is suitable for us in iiling systems in which it is desired to keep data cards upon the desk or the like `i'or ready reference.

v Theldevice is particularly suitable as a tray for ledger cards. It will be understood that the device may be manufactured in dierent sizes, the size depending upon vthe size andV number of cards ordina'rilyused.v 1n service the cards are placed in aV desired order between the ends 1 and 2,'being maintained in position bythe side arms and by the arrangement of the tubular guide members 15 and 18 in the alined slotted openings ordinarily provided .in such cards.

Vihen it is desired to segregate certain cardsfrom the others for any purpose without removing the same from the order in which placed, the laterally extensible side arm is moved into its extended position and such cards are likewise moved laterally. For example, suppose the device isv being used as a ledger tray. Entries are being posted to certain cards held in the tray. n As each entry is posted, the particular card concerned is movedrlaterally without being entirely withdrawn from its position with respect to the other cards. When the posting has been completed, a recapitulation thereof may be quickly and readily made to determine the accuracyo such posting and to disclose any errors, since all the cards ai fected by the entries are immediately available without the necessity of examining all the cards in the tray to select those concerned. l f Y y rEhe device is light in weight and may therefore be moved by hand from placeV to place and may be placed within a safe or the like for security Vand protection of the records. i v

I claim: Y n

1. A device of the class Vdescribed lcomprising a pair of upright end members arranged to face each other, a plurality of horizontally alined bottom slats, alternatel slats being rigidly secured to the 'same end member, whereby the ends are movable longitudinally with VrespectV tothe device, means for limiting the longitudinal lmovement of said end members, and an extensible side arm connected with the side'edges of said end members.

2. A device of the class described comprising a pair oi vvupright end members formed with their adjacent faces inclined oppositely from the base upward, a plurality ot horizontally alined bottom slats arranged between the end members, alternate slats being rigidly secured to the same endmember and arranged to enter recesses in the bottom wall of the opposite end memberV when the device is in its retraced position, means for limitingthe extensible movement of the end members, an extensible side arm having one end rigidly securedto a side edge of one of the end members and its opposite end se-V cured to the corresponding side edge of the other end member, and a second' side arm having one end secured to a transversely extending guide member slidable in a guideway in one of the end members vand having its opposite end secured to a similar transversely extending guide member` slidable in a guideway in the second of said endmembers, whereby the second named side arm is extensible laterally with respect to the device.

3. A device of the class described comprising a pair of upright end members formed with their adjacent faces inclined oppositely from the base upward, a plurality of horizontally alined bottom slats arranged between the end members, alternate slats being rigidly secured to the same end member and arranged to enter recesses in the bottom wall of the'opposite end member when the device is in its retracted position, means for limiting the extensible movement of the end members, an extensible side arm having one end rigidly secured to a side edge of one of the end members and its o posite end secured to the corresponding side edge of the other end member, a second side arm having one end secured to a transversely extending guide member slidable in a guideway in one of the end members and having its o posite end secured to a similar transverse y extending guide member slidable in a guideway in the second of said end members, whereby the second named guide arm is extensible laterally with respect to the device, means for limiting the extensible movement of said second named guide arm, an extensible tubular member having its ends secured to the adjacent faces of said end members intermediate the length thereof and in position to engage with cards placed between said end members, and a handle secured to each of the remote faces of said end members.

4. A device of the class described comprising a pair of upright end members arranged to face each other, a plurality of bottom slats, certain of said slats being rigidly secured to one of the said end members, while the remaining slats are rigidly secured to the other end member, whereby the ends are movable longitudinally with respect to the device, means for limiting the longitudinal movement of said end members, and an extensible side arm connected with the side edges of said end members.

JOHN EMMONS BEMIS. 

